Ranger's Apprentice: Cast Reacts To The Battle For Skandia
by Veronica Boire
Summary: Join the cast of Ranger's Apprentice as they embark on this emotional journey as they learn the full extent of Will's and Evanlyn's (Cassandra's) adventures in Skandia


_**The Battle For Skandia: Cast Reacts!**_

"I wonder why the King wants to see us so suddenly." Gilan mused while walking towards King Duncan's study with Halt, his former mentor and Will, his surrogate brother. Neither Halt nor Will had an answer. Upon entering the room they saw that everyone else (Horace, Pauline, Sir David, Alyss, Baron Arald, Jenny, Cassandra, Sir Rodney and of course, Crowley) were already there. "Well, hello gentlemen," the King greeted them, "Have a seat and then I'll explain why you're all here."

Once the two Rangers and the apprentice took their seats next to their significant others Duncan gestured to a stack of books to his left. "These were here when I arrived this morning with a note saying to call you all here to read them with me. Usually in a series you'd start at number one but one book in particular caught my attention."

He paused, picking a book off the stack. On the cover it read _The Battle For Skandia. _"I read the summary and I believe that what Will and Cassandra told us of their time there wasn't the full story. I don't want to pry but I think it's safe to assume we all want the full truth."

Cassandra bit her lip nervously while Will rested his head in his hands. Even after all this time it seemed they'd be haunted by their experiences in that icy country. Noticing his protégé's obvious distress, Halt rubbed Will's back in a fatherly way and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this Will? No one is going to judge you or hate you for what happened, least of all the people in this room."

With extreme effort, Will pulled himself together and replied, "Yes. There are still things you don't know because I don't have much of a recollection of my time in Skandia."

"Then who's reading first?" asked Jenny. Sir Rodney gestured for the book to be passed to him. "I'll read Your Majesty."

_**The Battle For Skandia: Chapter 1**_

**It was the constant tapping sound that roused Will from his deep, untroubled sleep. He had no clear idea at what point he first became aware of it. It seemed to slide unobtrusively into his sleeping mind, magnified and amplified inside his subconscious, until it crossed over into the conscious world and he realized he was awake, and wondering what it might be.**

**Tap-tap-tap-tap… It was still there, but not as loud now that he was awake and aware of other sounds in the small cabin. **

**From the corner, behind a small curtain of sacking that gave her a modicum of privacy, he could hear Evanlyn's even breathing. Obviously, the tapping hadn't woken her. There was a muted crackle from the heaped coals in the fireplace at the end of the room and, as he became more fully awake, he heard them settle with a slight rustling sound.**

**Tap-tap-tap…**

**It seemed to come from nearby. He stretched and yawned, sitting up on the rough couch he'd fashioned from wood and canvas. **

Pauline frowned. "Wasn't that uncomfortable to sleep on?" Will shrugged. "Yes but our situation wasn't exactly ideal either."

Paulinewas forced to concede the point.

**He shook his head to clear it and, for a moment, the sound was obscured. Then it was back once more and he realized it was coming from outside the window. The oiled cloth panes were translucent-they would admit the gray light of the pre-dawn, but he couldn't see anything more than a blur through them. Will knelt on the couch and unlatched the frame, pushing it up and craning his head through the opening to study the porch of the cabin.**

Halt looked across the table to his former apprentice. He still felt the weight of guilt when it came to Will's previous enslavement. If only he hadn't sent Will on that blasted mission…

**A gust of chill entered the room and he heard Evanlyn stir as it eddied around, causing the sacking curtain to billow inward, and the embers in the fireplace to glow more fiercely, until a small tongue of yellow flame was released from them. **

**Somewhere in the trees, a bird was greeting the first light of a new day, and the tapping sound was obscured once more. Then he had it. It was water, dripping from the end of a long icicle that depended from the porch roof and falling onto an upturned bucket that had been left on the edge of the porch.**

**Tap-tap-tap... tap-tap-tap**

**Will frowned to himself. There was something significant in this, he knew, but his mind, still fuddled with sleep, couldn't quite grasp what it was. He stood, still stretching, and shivered slightly as he left the last warmth of his blanket and made his way to the door.**

**Hoping not to wake Evanlyn, he eased the latch upward and slowly opened the door, holding it up so that the sagging leather hinges wouldn't allow the bottom edge to scrape the floor of the cabin.**

Rodney had a puzzled expression on his face. "What were you doing?" he asked the young lad sitting across the table. Will answered, "Once I knew where the tap sound was coming from I needed to know what was causing it."

Rodney nodded. It made sense, wanting to know if there was a threat or not, or simply something to worry about.

**Closing the door behind him, he stepped out onto the rough boards of the porch, feeling them strike icy cold against his bare feet. He moved to the spot where the water dripped endlessly onto the bucket, realizing as he went that other icicles hanging from the roof were also dripping water. He hadn't seen this before. He was sure they usually didn't do this.**

**He glanced out at the trees, where the first rays of the sun were beginning to filter through. In the forest, there was a slithering thump as a load of snow finally slid clear of the pine branches that had supported it for months and fell in a heap to the ground below. And it was then that Will realized the significance of the endless tap–tap–tap that had woken him.**

"**What is it?" she asked him. "Is something wrong?"**

**He hesitated a second, glancing at the growing puddle of water beside the bucket. "It's the thaw." he said finally.**

"What's wrong with the thaw?" Baron Arald asked, confused. It was Cassandra who answered. "It meant that we would have to move on but Will had just overcome his warmweed addiction and wasn't strong enough."

The Baron looked at his former ward, sympathy written on his face. He couldn't help feeling bad for the boy, once a cheerful and lively presence, now somewhat dialed down.

**After their meager breakfast, Will and Evanlyn sat in the early morning sun as it streamed across the porch. Neither of them had wanted to discuss the significance of Will's earlier discovery, although they had since found more signs of the thaw. Small patches of brown grass were showing through the snow cover on the ground surrounding the cabin, and the sound of wet snow sliding from the trees to hit the ground was becoming increasingly common.**

**The snow was still thick on the ground and in the trees, of course. But the signs were there that the thaw had begun and that, inexorably, it would continue.**

"**I suppose we'll have to think about moving on," Will said, finally voicing the thought that had been in both their minds.**

Will balled his hands into fists as he whispered, "That damn drug…" At that Halt had Rodney stop. He rose from his seat and approached his former student. "Will if you need a break you have to take it. It's obvious this is striking a nerve…" Will just shook his head and gestured for the knight to continue.

"**You're not strong enough yet," Evanlyn told him. It had been barely three weeks since he had thrown off the mind–numbing effects of the warm–weed given to him as a yard slave in Ragnak's Lodge. Will had been weakened by inadequate food and clothing and a regimen of punishing physical work before they had made their escape.**

Halt had a look on his face that was somewhere between anger and sympathy. Pauline put an arm around her husband, offering comfort.

He was angry at those who had inflicted pain upon the young man he came to see as his son, and sympathetic towards his young protégé.

"I should have been faster, hell, I shouldn't have sent you to Celtica in the first place." he said now, his voice quiet and sad, as though he felt guilty.

Will looked at his former teacher with something like sympathetic anxiety in his eyes. "Please Halt, don't blame yourself. In the end everything turned out alright, didn't it?" Halt sighed, almost in a resigned tone then nodded, conceding the point.

**Since then, their meager diet in the cabin had been enough to sustain life, but not to restore his strength or endurance. They had lived on the cornmeal and flour that had been stored in the cabin, along with a small stock of vegetables and the stringy meat from whatever game Evanlyn and he had been able to snare. **

**There was little enough of that in the winter, and what game they had managed to catch had been in poor condition itself, providing little in the way of nourishment.**

At that last bit Horace let a sad look come over his face. "That must have to have been hard on you two. Not just physically, but morally as well." he remarked.

Cassandra leaned against her husband as she answered, "Yes it was. But we survived." Her voice was quiet; almost tired as though just talking was an enormous task.

Horace put his arm around his wife, pulling her close as if needing reassurance that she was alright while Alyss did the same for Will.

**Will shrugged. "I'll manage," he said simply. "I'll have to."**

**And that, of course, was the heart of the problem. They both knew that once the snow in the high passes had melted, hunters would again begin to visit the high country where they found themselves. Already, Evanlyn had seen one such–the mysterious rider in the forest on the day when Will's senses returned to him.**

**Fortunately, since that day, there had been no further sign of him. But it was a warning. Others would come, and before they did, Will and Evanlyn would have to be long gone, heading down the far side of the mountain passes and across the border into Teutlandt.**

Cassandra leaned further into Horace's strong-armed embrace.

**Evanlyn shook her head doubtfully. For a moment, she said nothing. Then she realized that Will was right. Once the thaw was well and truly under way, they would have to leave whether she felt he was strong enough to travel or not.**

"**Anyway," she said at last, "we have a few weeks yet. The thaw's only just started, and who knows? We may even get another cold snap."**

"Not to sound pessimistic," Jenny spoke, "but isn't that kind of unlikely?" Will shook his head, as did Cassandra. "No, not really," Will answered, "Skandia, even at that time of year can be pretty iffy in terms of the weather."

Jenny nodded in understanding as Rodney continued reading.

**It was possible, she thought. Perhaps not probable, but at least it was possible. Will nodded agreement.**

"**There always that," he said. The silence fell over them once more like a blanket. Abruptly, Evanlyn stood, dusting off her breeches. "I'll go and check the snares," she said, and when Will began to rise to accompany her, she stopped him. "You stay here," she said gently. "From now on, you're going to have to conserve your strength as much as possible." Will hesitated, then nodded. He recognized that she was right.**

**She collected the hessian sack they used as a game bag and slung it over her shoulder. Then, with a small smile in his direction, the girl headed off into the trees. Feeling useless and dispirited, Will slowly began to gather up the wooden platters they had used for the meal. All he was good for, he thought bitterly, was washing up.**

Alyss squeezed Will's hand and gave him a look. "That's not true," she said quietly. "And besides, you had just gotten over an addiction that most probably would not have recovered from." Will kept his eyes trained on the table.

"I know that but still," he said. Will took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice from catching. "I wish I could have done something, something to defend myself." He fell silent after that. Will failed to notice the sympathetic glances from Gilan and Halt, though Halt looked more concerned than anything.

**The snare line moved farther and farther from the cabin over the past three weeks. As animals, rabbits, squirrels and the occasional snow hare had fallen prey to the snares that Will had built, the other animals in that area had become wary. As a consequence, they have been compelled to move the snares into new locations every few days each one a little farther away from the cabin than the one before**

**Evanlyn estimated that she had forty minutes walking on the narrow uphill track before she would reach the first snare. Of course, if she'd been able to move straight to it, the walk would have been considerably shorter. But the track wound and wandered through the trees, more than doubling the distance she had to cover.**

**The signs of the thaw were all around her, now that she was aware of it. The snow no longer squeaked dryly underfoot as she walked. It was heavier, wetter and her steps sank deeply into it. **

**The leather of her boots was already soaked from contact with the melting snow. The last time she had walked this way, she reflected, the snow had simply coated her boots as a fine, dry powder. **

**She also began to notice more activity among the wildlife in the area. Birds flitted through the trees in greater numbers than she'd previously seen, and she startled a rabbit on the track,**

"Cassandra how could you do such a thing?" Gilan asked, faking offence in an attempt to lighten the mood. There were a few grins but that was it.

**sending it scurrying back into the protection of a snow-covered thicket of blackberries. At least, she thought, all this extra activity might increase the chances of finding some worthwhile game in the snares. **

"It also increased the chances of other people." Will remarked, bitterness lacing his words. Cassandra nodded in grim agreement. "That it did." she said quietly.

Sir David spoke up for the first time. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. Will looked at him darkly. "You'll see." he told the older man.

**Evanlyn saw the discreet sign that Will had cut into the bark of a pine and turned off the track to find the spot where she and Will had laid the first of the warmweed drug.**

**Her own survival skills were negligible and Will had provided welcome expertise in devising and setting snares to supplement their diet. It was all part of his Ranger training under Halt, he had told her.**

"So you _do _listen." Halt jabbed good-naturedly. Will smiled as he replied, "I'd be a fool not to listen. That knowledge came in handy while we were in the mountains."

The note of gratitude in the younger Ranger's voice did not go unnoticed even as laughter rippled around the table.

**She remembered how, when he mentioned the older Ranger's name, his eyes had misted for a few moments and his voice had choked slightly. Not for the first time, the two young people had felt very, very far from home.**

**As she pushed her way through the snow-laden bushes, becoming wetter and wetter in the process, she felt a surge of pleasure. The first snare in the line held the body of a small ground-foraging bird. They had caught a few of these previously and the bird's flesh made excellent eating.**

**About the size of a small chicken, it had carelessly poked its neck through the wire noose of the snare, then become entangled. Evanlyn smiled grimly as she thought how once she might have objected to the cruelty of the bird's death. Now, all she felt was a sense of satisfaction as she realized that they would eat well today.**

Eyebrows rose all around the table. "Well, that is certainly a turnaround from being a pampered princess." Crowley remarked.

Cassandra shrugged. "We had to eat something and all things considered, we did what was necessary for survival. Besides, I wasn't exactly a princess in those circumstances."

**Amazing how an empty belly could change your perspective, she thought, removing the noose from the bird's neck and stuffing the small carcass in her makeshift game bag. She reset the snare, sprinkling a few seeds of corn on the ground beyond it, then rose to her feet, frowning in annoyance as she realized that the melting snow had left two wet patches on her knees as she'd crouched.**

**Evanlyn sensed, rather than heard, the movement in the trees behind her and began to turn.**

"Oh no." groaned King Duncan. "Something happens, doesn't it?" Cassandra nodded. Duncan's frown deepened at that.

**Before she could move, she felt an iron grip around her throat**-Horace drew his wife closer as people sat on the edge of their seats-**, and as she gasped in fright, a fur-gloved hand, smelling vilely of smoke, sweat and dirt, clapped over her mouth and nose, cutting off her cry for help.**

Rodney closed the book and breathed out slowly. "And on that note," said the knight, "chapter one is finished."


End file.
